A MAN in Scotland has been charged in relation to an offensive tweet posted about a young Co Armagh Celtic fan.
Police in Edinburgh said an 18-year-old man had been arrested and charged in connection with "communications offences following the Hearts v Celtic football match on Sunday 17th December".
It is believed the arrest relates to a tweet posted at the weekend about Celtic fan Jay Beatty.
The Lurgan schoolboy's father, Martin, described the remarks made about his 12-year-old son, who has Down Syndrome, as "disgusting".
Mr Beatty and his son had travelled to Edinburgh at the weekend to watch Celtic take on Hearts at Tynecastle in the city.
Celtic lost the game 4-0, bringing an end to the club’s record of 69 games unbeaten in domestic fixtures.
However, as the father and son returned from the match, it was found that comments about Jay had been made on Twitter.
Reportedly posted by a Hearts fan, the message read: “This is how it feels to be Celtic paedophiles again and you know wee jay beatie (sic) won’t see 10 in a row”.
The tweet is believed to be referencing Celtic’s run of league championship wins.
Posting a copy of the tweet, Mr Beatty said: “Hearts fully deserved to win today, fought and won every ball so well done on a great win but getting off the plane with Jay to see this all over social media is disgusting.
“Enjoy your result but wishing the death of a child because of the team he loves is shameful and is wrong."
The remarks prompted a backlash from football fans across the board who came out in support of young Jay, who first hit the headlines at the age of 11 when he was carried around Glasgow’s Celtic Park in front of more than 50,000 supporters by Celtic player, Georgios Samaras.
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said yesterday: "Police in Edinburgh have arrested and charged an 18-year-old man in connection with communications offences following the Hearts v Celtic football match on Sunday 17th December.
"A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal."
